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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. W. PRICE.

STEAM ENGINE. No. 337,518.. Patented Mar.. 9, 1886.

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v ATTIDKNEWfE-I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. W. PRICE.

(No Model.)

STEAM ENGINE.

Patente Mar. 9, 1886.

Wl-TN ESEES NVENTID %7 TDRNEYS N. PETERS. Phawmmgmpher. wnsmngmn. D. c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. W. PRICE.

STEAM ENGINE. No. 337,518. Patented Mar. 9, 1886.

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Wr-r-NEEEE.- 'INVENTIQR- y E? E S17/241, C o Q v wwwa N. PETERS. Pham-umogmpher. wmmgum. uc.

GEORGE NV. PRICE, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO VILLIAM J. HOOPER, OF SAME PLACE. I

STEANENGINE.

PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,518, dated March 9, 1886.

Application iiled June QG, 1885. Serial No. 169,806.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. PRICE, of the city of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new and usel'ul Improvement in Steam-Engines, of which the following is a full description, which will be readily understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is an upright sectional view ofthe engine, the cylinders on the steam side being shown partly in full and partly broken away. It also shows the two cranks on that side of the gure, one up and the other down, and on the right they stand horizontally on opposite sides of the shaft. This iigure also shows the pistons to correspond in position with the cranks. Fig. 2 shows an end view of the machine, partly in section, and showing the four cranks with their connecting-rods in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a top view of the machine. Fig. 4 is an upright sectional View of the apparatus, showing the same position of pistons and cranks as in Fig. l, and the ports in the cylinders and steam-passages. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are views of the saine, showing diit'erent positions of the piston and the steam and exhaust passages. Fig. Sis an upright sectional View ot'an apparatus in kwhich are shown hollow or recessed pistons, illustrating` a method by which the steam may be introduced from the side instead of at the tops of the cylinders, andhaving the same arrangement of steam and exhaust passages. Fig. 9 is a sectional end View of one ofthe cylinders as shown in Fig. 8.

My invention relates toy that class ot' steamengines in which the piston is used as a valve to open and close the steam-ports; and it consists in anovel arrangement of ports and passages, whereby I am enabled to use an ordinary plain piston and provide but two ports in each cylinder to be opened and closed by the piston in passing.

-Let A, B, C, and D represent the cylinders, and a, b, c, and d their respective pistons. In the cylinders A and B, I provide the ports e .and b', located about midway of the stroke of the respective pistons, and construct them about equal in length to the thickness of their respective pistons. From the port a in cylinder A, I construct a passage-way, which I (No model.)

have marked a c, which leads to aport (marked c?) which opens in the bottom of cylinder C, and from the port b in cylinder B, l construct a similarl passage-way(marked b d) leading from said port to the port marked d2, which opens in the bottom of cylinder D. In cylinders C and D, I have provided a similar arrangement, the ports c' and d being for convenieneelocated on the opposite side of said cylinders, though this is not necessary, as they 6o would work just as welt on the same side as the ports of cylinders A and B. These ports c and dare shown in dotted lines in Figs. 4C and 6, and partly plain and partly dotted lines in Figs. 5 and 7, according to whether 65 they are exposed or covered by the position of the piston. From the port c' in cylinder C, I construct the passage-way marked c a, which leads to the port c2, opening in the bottom of cylinder A, and from the port 7o d in cylinder D the passage-way d b to the port b, opening in the bottom ol.' cylinder B. The cranks pertaining to each cylinder and piston I have marked, respectively, (L3 I):i c3 d3, and the connecting-rods a4 b4 c4 ch, which are 75 pivoted to the piston and connected directly with the cranks. Thus it will be seen that each cylinder has but two ports or openings, one located about midway of the stroke of its piston and the other at the bottom. It will 8o also he seen that each ot' the ports located about midway communicates with the cylinder next but one from it, and at the bottomthat is to say, cylinder A is connected from at or near the middle to the bottom of cylinder c. Cylinder B is connected in the same way with cylinder D, cylinder C is connected in the same way with cylinder A, and cylinderD with cylinder B. The purposes and uses of making these ccnnectionsin this way will be explained 9o more fully hereinafter in describing the mode of operation of the machine. From the tops of these cylinders I have cast or otherwise secured the Isteam-tight box or chest E, which runs from the cylinders up to the shaft F and 95 I furnishes the means for supporting said shaft. This steam-chest is divided by the steam-tight partition-wall G, which separates the chest v into two compartments, thus leaving two cyly inders located on each side of the partitionwall G. A cover, H, is then secured to the steam-chest, of such shape and form as to continue the compartmentsthus formed, and the stuffing-boxes e and journal bearings f are thus formed in two halves, one halt'upon the walls of the stean'i-chest and the other upon the corresponding wails of the cover, as shown in Fig. 1. The cover is provided with the openings I and l', one of which may be used as an imet and the other for the exhaust of the steam. Either may be so used, as matter of choice; but in order to explain I have chosen to select the opening` I as the steam-inlet, and I as the exhaust.

Let us iirst take Fig. 1, with the positions of the pistons as shown in that figure, and allow the steam to enter the opening I in the cover: the pressure ofsteani would be primarily upon the tops of the two pistons a and I); but as piston b is below the top ot' port b the steam passes out of said port through the passage b d and has entered cylinder D below the piston d. Piston b being at the bottom of its stroke and just ready to move upwardly, it would encounter the full pressure of steam against it, were it not for the fact that piston d is also running upwardly, and just Vat this point is beginning to uncover the port d', allowing the steam to pass out through the passage-way d b into the bottom of cylinder B and below piston b, thus counterbalancing the pressure ot' steam on the other side of that piston. Now the condition ot' the pistons as to pressure would be as follows: Piston a, which is just ready to begin its downward movement, will have a full head ot' steam upon it direct, piston d, which is moving upwardly, will have a full pressure of steam upon it below, and piston b will be counterbalanced by a pressure ofsteam on both sides.

Before leaving Fig. l it would be well to explain the exhaust as it occu rs in that position of the pistons. Two of the four cylinders are exhaustingcylinders A and C. Iiston ci is just beginning to move downwardly, and its cylinder is just beginning to exhaust. The steam which has forced piston c to the top of its stroke now begins to exhaust through the port a and passage-way c c out through port c', which is just being uncovered by the downward movement of piston c, and up through the opening I', and cylinder C (whose steam has followed the piston c since the descent of its piston began) now exhausts through its lower port, ci, and passage-way c c into cylinder A, and out through port a2 and passage-way c c above piston c through the exhaust-opening l'.

In Fig. 6 the positions ofthe pistons are exactly reversed. Piston a isjust beginning its upward movement, piston bjust beginning to come down, piston c, atabout half-stroke, Inoving upwardly, and piston d, in about the same position, moving downwardly. The pressure of steam here, as always, is upon the tops ofthe two pistons a and b; but it has passed out of cylinder A through the port a and entered below piston othrough the port es. It is now beginning to pass out of the port c' into the port a2, and is counter-balancing the piston a, t-he cylinders B and D are exhausting, the piston I) is forcing the steam through the exhaust, and d out through the exhaust-opening I, and the piston d is forcing the steam below it through the ports cZ`l and b into 'cylinder B, and out through b2 and d to the exhaust-opening I. The position ofthe pistons as to pressure is as follows: Piston a is counterbalanced, piston b has full pressure of steam on top to force it down, and piston d has full pressure ot' the steam below to 'force it up.

It will now.only be necessary to notice Figs. 5 and 7, showing pistons a and b at half-stroke and pistons c and d at full-stroke. These two figures have the positions of their cranks reversed. ln Fig. 5 the crank of piston cl is up and that of piston c down. In Fig. 7 the crank ofpiston c is up and that of d down. Now, if we follow the course of the steam and exhaust while the pistons are in these positions, it will be seen that the steam, as usual, is at full pressure on the tops of pistons a and b,- that it is just beginning to pass out of cylinder A and enter below piston c, which is about commencing its upward movement; that the port b is just closed oli', which has let the steam into cylinder D to force piston d to the top of its stroke and back again to counterbalanee piston b. It will also be seen that piston d is j ust beginning to descend and force the steam below it under piston I), and that piston b is just beginning to open port b below and allow the exhaust-steam from cylinder d to enter, following piston b up as it aseends until pistou d goes down far enough to open port d at the top and allow both B and D to exhaust.

To describe Fig. 7 will only be necessary to reverse the description just given.

It will thus be seen that the engine, as constructed, operates the pistons a andb freni the top and c and d from the bottom; that cylinders A and B exhaust directthrough Gand D, and C and D exhaust through A and B and back again, each over its own respective piston.

rIhe ports and passage-ways of Figs. 8 and 9 are arranged and operate in the saine way. The pistons in each of these cylinders have hollow spaces or recesses between their heads, which spaces act as steam-chests. Instead of having the pressure of steam upon the top of the two pistons a and b, the engine is arranged without the steani-chest and cover above, leaving the shaft and cranks exposed.

The steam in the cylinders, Fig. 8, enters by the port at the side. As the enginestands in the iigure, piston a is at the top of its stroke and the steam occupies the space in the recess between its heads, piston b has passed down below the port b', and the steam has passed out of that and is operating piston d from below, which is on its upward movement, and isjust beginning to open the port d and allow the steam to enter below piston b, which :is

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just beginning its upward movement, cylinders A and C are exhausting, A through the passage c a into the recess of piston c, and out through the exhaust, and cylinder C through the port c'l into cylinder A below piston a, out through a, passage-way c a, into the recess oi' piston c and the exhaust-pipe.

The passages for the steam and exhaust are just the same and operate in the same way as those heretofore described; but all of the pistons are operated by pressure of steam npon the bottoms of the pistons.

The advantages ot' the special construction shown and described are many. It is the cheapest form of engine in my knowledge, and will occupy little space when constructed.

What l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a steam-engine, two companion cylinders, as A and C, each having two ports, as c and c2, cand c, and one piston,arranged, conlbined, and operating with the ports and each other, so that a portion of t-he steam operating lon top of the piston in cylinder A may pass out the port a when piston a has descended to open said port, and into its companion cylinder C and below the piston c to force said piston upwardly and pass ont of the port c when the piston c has uncovered the lower end of said port, back into cylinder a at the bottom, and under piston a, to counterbnlance each other, so that the steam first enters eyl- V inder A, and passes thence to cylinder C, and under piston c, to propel said piston, and out of cylinder C back again to cylinder A, and under piston a, to propel it, substantially as shown and described.

3. Ina steam-engine, two companion cylinders, as A and G, each having two ports, as a and ft2, c and c2, and one piston, arranged, combined, and operating with'the ports and with each other, so that the steam from cylinderA will exhaust through cylinderCdirect, and the steani from cylinder C will exhaust through cylinder A, and then back through cylinder C on the opposite side of' its piston.

4. A steam-engine having two or more pairs of cylinders, one haltl of which have their pistons exposed to direct pressure of the steam on top, and the oth er half arranged to receive the pressure' ot' steam on the bottom, substantially as described.

GEORGE W. PRICE.

FWitnesses:

ARTHUR STEWART, JAMES L. STEWART. 

